First Day on the Job
by shana852963
Summary: Teddy Lupin is fresh out of the Auror training program and he's anxious to go on his first mission to stop a Dark wizard. Harry, knowing just how dangerous being an Auror can be, is less excited about sending his godson into harm's way. Especially since it seems Teddy has picked up his own disregard for the rules.


Harry sat at his large, oak desk in his office, leafing through a large pile of parchment. He was working on putting together a group of Aurors to head out on a mission later that day. There had been multiple reports of a wizard outside of Scotland who had been tormenting muggle villages. He would stand on the outskirts of the village and fire the Cruciatus Curse at random, causing his poor victim to suddenly drop to the ground, withering in pain. Understandingly, a panic had arisen in the village, as nobody could comprehend why perfectly healthy individuals were suddenly crumpling to the ground and screaming. Harry knew the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee would have their work cut out for them covering this up, but before he could worry about that, he needed to apprehend the wizard.

Harry had studied the case thoroughly, and no matter how many times he went over it, he couldn't find a clear motive for why this wizard was doing what he was doing. He didn't appear to be trying to send a message to the Ministry, revenge didn't make sense, he wasn't gaining anything…Harry sighed as he set the file down. It looked like the wizard was doing this solely to amuse himself, which made Harry sick to his stomach. As Head of Magical Law Enforcement, he would make sure this wizard got what was coming to him.

There was a knock at Harry's door. Harry looked up to see his godson, Teddy Lupin, standing in his doorway. Teddy had just finished the Auror training program and was waiting anxiously to go out onto the field. Harry was undoubtedly proud of Teddy for making it through his training, but he was less-than-eager to send him out into danger.

"Still looking over the Portee case?" Teddy asked, stepping into the office.

"Yes, I'm just about to go and put a team together," Harry nodded. "We'll be ready to leave within the hour, I hope."

"Hmm, well, is the team finalized?" Teddy said. "Or is there perhaps one more spot open?"

"Let me guess," Harry sighed, far too used to Teddy begging to go on missions. "You want to come."

"I've been an Auror for nearly a month, and I haven't gotten a chance to do anything besides paperwork," Teddy argued. "When you first started at the Auror office, they let you do all sorts of exciting things I remember!"

"There had just been a war, Teddy," Harry explained. "There was no choice. But right now, thankfully, things are calmer. You should be grateful for that."

"Right, everything's calm except for this madman tormenting muggle villages," Teddy scoffed. "He needs to be stopped and I want to be a part of it."

"He _will _be stopped," Harry assured him. "But you're-you're too young."

"What are you talking about? I'm the same age you were when you started!" Teddy exclaimed. "And when my mum started! And you said even though she was young, she was a brilliant Auror, right?"

Harry sighed. "Your mum was one of the strongest Aurors I knew. But like I said, times were different back then-"

"Then let me help to make sure we don't go back to times like that," Teddy interjected. "Let me help you stop wizards like this before they get too powerful. That's the whole reason I wanted to become an Auror."

Harry pondered this for a moment. He knew Teddy made a strong point. And he knew he wouldn't be having this much trouble letting any other new recruit go out onto the field.

"Fine," Harry conceded. "You'll come on this mission. But you need to be careful and listen to everything I say! And if I tell you to pull back, you pull back, got it?"

"Yes, yes," Teddy said, a wide grin breaking out onto his face. "Thank you, Harry!"

"Go grab your go-bag and tell Vic where you'll be, then," Harry said. "And go say goodbye to Ginny as well. It'll be my neck on the line if she finds out she didn't get to see you off on your first Auror mission."

"Right, sure thing," Teddy said, quickly turning and racing from the office.

Harry glanced over to the corner of his desk, where he had several framed photographs of his family. His eyes fell onto an older picture; of Teddy when he was only four-years old. He was sitting on Harry's lap, laughing in a carefree manner that only a child could possess. Harry picked up the pictured and stared at it. He hoped more than anything he wouldn't come to regret this decision.

…..

"I kept this team small for a reason," Harry said later that evening, as him and his group of five Aurors, including Teddy, stood around the outskirts of the small Scottish town. "To try and not draw attention to ourselves. We need to blend in with the villagers as much as possible to seek this wizard out. Now, thankfully this village isn't too big. If the six of us split into three groups, we should be able to canvas the whole place pretty quickly. Higgens, Birdwick, you start in the northern part of town. Davers and Tappers, head south. Ted-Lupin and I will start in the center work our way out. Send out red sparks if you find anything."

The Aurors nodded in understanding and headed off in their assigned directions.

"You put me with you on purpose," Teddy pointed out as him and Harry started towards the heart of the town. "But I suppose I should just be glad you let me finally come out here at all."

"Just keep your eyes peeled," Harry told him, clutching his wand from inside of his pocket. "Remember, we're looking for anybody that doesn't look as though they fit in here. This bloke is likely staying right in the town, or nearby it."

"Right," Teddy nodded.

The two walked as nonchalantly as possible, studying the villagers closely to look for anything that seemed out of place.

"There's still no motive, is there?" Teddy finally whispered. "For why he is doing this."

"No," Harry replied heavily. "Not that I can see. He's likely doing this for his own sick amusement."

"Can't believe there are wizards out there who still do this," Teddy muttered. "Even after the war…after Voldemort."

"Unfortunately, Teddy, I don't think there will ever be a time when things like this don't happen," Harry said gently. "There will always be Darkness in the world. But it's our job to keep driving it out. No matter what."

Teddy stopped in his tracks suddenly. "Harry…look at that man over there."

"Where?"

Teddy nodded over to a quiet, outdoor café, where several people were laughing and chatting over cappuccinos and biscuits. But the man Teddy had pointed out was sitting alone, staring down at a paper.

"What about him?" Harry asked.

"Look at this cup," Teddy replied.

Harry glanced at the small espresso cup in front of him. A silver spoon was stirring the beverage all by itself.

"He's using magic," Harry said. "That's him! Brilliant, Teddy! Now go ahead and send sparks to the others and-Teddy, no!"

Teddy had broken out into a run towards the café, already drawing his wand. Harry quickly shot the red sparks out on his own and sprinted after Teddy.

As Teddy neared, the wizard at the café table turned and spotted him and Harry running towards him. His leaped up from his table and pulled his wand out from within his coat.

"Expelliarmus!" Teddy cried, but the wizard easily blocked him.

"Drop your wand, your surrounded by the Ministry of Magic," Harry said as the muggle villagers stared at the scene with a mixture of confusion and terror. "You're under arrest for-"

But the wizard paid Harry no mind as he turned his wand back to Teddy.

"Crucio!" he roared.

Harry saw Teddy try to block the spell, but he wasn't fast enough. He dropped to his knees and let out an earsplitting scream. Harry felt his blood turn to ice.

"Teddy!" he yelled.

He pointed his own wand at the wizard. "Expelliarmus!"  
The wizard's wand flew from his hands, causing the spell to break. Teddy fell limp to the ground.

"Stupefy!" Harry roared, causing the wizard to fly back with such force that when he collided with the stone wall of the café, he was knocked cold.

"Get him, bring him in," Harry ordered to his fellow Aurors, who had just arrived after seeing the sparks.

"Yes sir," one of the Aurors said, rushing over to the rubble.

Harry knew he had messed up, causing far more of a scene among the muggles than necessary. But he didn't care about any of that; all he cared about was whether Teddy was alright or not.

"Teddy…Teddy, come on, wake up," Harry begged desperately. He pointed his wand at Teddy's chest.

"_Rennervate_!"

Teddy twitched ever so slightly and muttered incoherently.

Harry felt his whole body shake.

"You'll be okay, Teddy," he said, more to himself than anything. "You'll be okay…"

….

"He's never leaving his desk again," Harry fumed much later that evening, as he paced angrily outside of Teddy's room at St. Mungo's. "He won't see another mission for a decade!"

"Harry, you need to calm down," Ginny said. "The Healer said Teddy will be fine-"

"He wouldn't even be here right now if he had listened to me!" Harry exclaimed. "I told him to listen to everything I told him, but he ignored me and ran off and this happened!"

"And I wonder where he got that sudden disregard for the rules from?" Ginny pointed out.

"Gin, he could've been killed out there!" Harry retorted. "He doesn't seem to understand-"

"Of course he understands!" Ginny hissed. "How can you say Teddy of all people doesn't understand what can happen when you dedicate your life to stopping the Dark Arts? And I know the risks too! Do you think I enjoyed having to worry about the pair of you out there today instead of just you? But that's what he wants to do! You can't keep him from it."

Harry pursed his lips but said nothing as Teddy's door opened and Victoire stepped out.

"He's awake," she announced. "He's asking to see you, Uncle Harry."

"Thank you," Harry nodded, calming down as he took in just how shaken Victoire was.

"How are _you_, sweetheart?" Ginny asked, knowing all too well the emotions she was experiencing.

"I've never been so worried in my life," Victorie whispered.

"Why don't we go get a cup of tea while Harry and Teddy talk," Ginny suggested gently.

"Okay," Victoire agreed softly.

Harry watched the two head up to the tea room before he stepped inside Teddy's hospital room. His godson was laying in bed, heavily bandaged. His hair was his natural brown, which told Harry just how weak he really felt.

"Did you catch the guy?" Teddy asked right away.

"Yes," Harry nodded. "His name is Eden Wells. He's only a couple of years older than you. And just like I figured, he was doing this all because he thought it was, in his words, 'worth a laugh'. He's on his way to Azkaban as we speak."

"Good," Teddy said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Teddy," Harry started. "What you did today was-"

"I'm sorry," Teddy cut in. "I-I know I shouldn't have run at him like that. It was stupid and I-I should have waited for instructions from you. But I saw him aiming that curse at the muggle family sitting at the table next to him and I-"

"Hold on," Harry frowned. "You saw him pointing his wand?"

"Under the table, yes," Teddy replied. "It looked like he was about to curse them. I-I just wanted to stop him. I mean, they had kids with them, Harry."  
"I didn't see that," Harry said slowly.

"Are all the muggles in that village okay?" Teddy asked.

"I-Yes," Harry said, still taking in this new information. "Thanks to you, evidently."

Teddy gave a small smile. "Yes, well, I expect I'll be saddled with paperwork for the next year after this, right?"

"My plan was for a decade," Harry chuckled. "But…it wouldn't be doing the Auror department justice to keep one of our top men out of the field. You'll need to take some time to get your strength back, of course, but after that…you'll certainly be needed out there."

Teddy beamed. "Yeah?"

Harry stepped over and clasped Teddy's shoulder. "Your mum and dad would've been very proud of you out there today. I know it."

Teddy looked down at his lap, and Harry pretended not to notice a single tear slip from his eye.


End file.
